John Bohnenkamp for Pen City Current Sports
The first game back from Christmas break was just what Holy Trinity girls basketball coach Tony Johnson expected.
“First game back from break, it’s like everyone’s in mud, then everyone gets a little traction and we’re off again,” he said.
The Crusaders were spinning their wheels early in Friday’s SEI Superconference South Division game against Central Lee before finally getting some grip in a 36-29 win.
Holy Trinity (5-4 overall, 3-4 division) hadn’t played since a 48-30 win over Clark County (Mo.) on December 17. So Johnson expected some offensive struggles, which is why he was patient after the Crusaders scored just three points in the first quarter and didn’t get their first field goal until Mary Kate Bendlage’s layup with 5:15 left in the second quarter.
“We hadn’t played for three weeks, so I knew there would be some ring rust,” Johnson said. “When we got off to a slow start, I’m sure everyone in the gym thought I should call 47 timeouts, but that’s not going to get the rust off the rim. We just played through it. I knew we would be fine. I knew eventually our size would take over. That’s our strength.”
Holy Trinity finally got its traction with a 9-0 run over the final 2:35 of the first half to take a 19-13 halftime lead. The Crusaders wouldn’t trail again.
Central Lee (4-5, 3-4) had similar offensive struggles. The Hawks were within 30-27 with 2:37 left in the game, but wouldn’t get another field goal.
“We were shooting good shots, they just weren’t falling,” Central Lee coach Taylor Hickey said. “I told my coaches, I didn’t know what to call a few times, because I was flustered, because we were running good plays, and our shots weren’t going in.
“We just needed the shots to fall, and they didn’t.”
The Hawks couldn’t match the Crusaders’ size. Every second-half field goal for Holy Trinity came on inside shots or layups.
“We had good shots all game,” Johnson said. “When we didn’t force threes, we had good shots.
“When we make three passes, we can get any post person open. We’ve got more size than anybody we play. If we take advantage of that more, and not have to street-ball up a three, we’ll play a lot better.”
Bendlage finished with 19 points. Presley Myers had six points.
Makayla Morrison had 12 points for Central Lee. Mya Lampe added 11.
“My girls, we hadn’t run up and down for a while, and it showed tonight,” Hickey said. “I think we’re doing some really good things we weren’t doing at the beginning of the season. We worked really hard over Christmas break. My girls are doing the right things. We just needed to make shots tonight.”
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